Siargao

Siargao was settled by fishing and farming communities long before Spanish administration reached it, and the island's coasts were exposed to the sea raids that shaped much of the region. Under Spain it was organised into small parishes around Dapa and the coastal towns, and for most of its recorded history it lived on copra — dried coconut flesh — with fishing and rice alongside. The plantations that cover the interior date from that trade, and the island remained a remote corner of Surigao del Norte, reached by slow boats from the mainland.

Surfing changed its fortunes. Travelling surfers reached the reef off Catangnan in the late 1980s, and an American photographer named the break Cloud 9 after a chocolate bar. A surfing competition, a boardwalk and viewing tower, and an article in Surfer magazine in 1993 followed, and by the 1990s the island had a modest circuit of surf camps. Sayak Airport opened the island to short flights, and from the 2010s growth accelerated sharply: hostels, resorts, restaurants and property development spread through General Luna, and Siargao became one of the best-known destinations in the country.

Growth brought strain, and so did the weather. In December 2021 Typhoon Odette struck the island directly, destroying much of its buildings, boats and trees and cutting power and communications for weeks; rebuilding took much of the following years. The island's debates since have turned on construction rules, water and waste, and how large a tourist economy a small island can carry without losing what people come for.

Two cultures share the island. One is Surigaonon and rural: Catholic, family-based and organised around the fishing calendar, the copra harvest, the barangay basketball court and the town fiesta, with karaoke carrying from houses in the evening and church on Sunday morning. The other is the surf and traveller culture of General Luna, international and young, which has produced its own year-round population of long-stayers, instructors, bar owners and returning visitors.

Surfing is the thread between them. Many of the island's best riders grew up in the coastal barangays and learned on borrowed boards; surf schools and board repair now support a large number of families, and competitions draw riders from across Asia. The etiquette at the reef breaks is taken seriously — locals have priority, and dropping in on another rider is the island's main social offence.

Away from the strip, manners are conservative and quiet. Elders are greeted first, modest dress is expected in villages, and the emphatic hospitality common across the Philippines applies here too: food is offered and refusing outright is awkward. The island is also environmentally self-conscious in a way that is unusual in the country. Bans on some single-use plastics, mangrove protection schemes and beach clean-ups are local causes, driven partly by residents who watched the reef and the shoreline change as the crowds grew.

Well over a hundred thousand people live across the island's municipalities, most of them in fishing and farming barangays rather than in the resort towns. Dapa is the commercial and transport centre, and General Luna, with around 25,000 residents, is where the tourist economy is concentrated. Copra remains the backbone of the rural interior, fishing supports the coasts, and rice is grown on the flat land in the north.

Tourism has reorganised much of the island's working life. Construction, housekeeping, guiding, boat crewing, scooter hire and hospitality now absorb many young people who would once have left for Cebu or Manila, and some have come back from those cities to work at home. It is seasonal, dependent on flights and weather, and its wages are uneven, so most households still keep land, a boat or a market stall.

The day begins before dawn for surfers and fishermen alike. Boats go out early, the markets are busiest by seven, the middle of the day is spent in the shade, and the evening belongs to the beachfront and the town plazas. The island's persistent problems are practical: an electricity supply that fails often, limited fresh water, rubbish collection struggling with the volume visitors bring, and health care that means a boat or a flight for anything serious. Storm preparedness is part of ordinary life since 2021.

Fish is the foundation. Tuna, mackerel, squid and reef fish come in daily and are grilled over coals, fried, or made into kinilaw — raw fish cured in vinegar and calamansi with ginger, onion and chilli, which the region makes as well as anywhere in the country. Crab, prawns and sea urchin appear in season, and the standard accompaniment is rice, with a vinegar and chilli dipping sauce on every table.

Coconut is the other constant, as it is in the plantations that cover the island. Fish and vegetables are stewed in coconut milk, snacks and cakes are made with grated coconut and palm sugar, and buko, the young nut, is cut open and drunk cold in the heat. Tuba, coconut wine tapped from the palm, is the village drink. Across Mindanao sinuglaw — grilled pork belly combined with kinilaw — is a favourite, and it is served here too.

In General Luna the cooking has broadened with the visitors: bakeries, coffee bars, smoothie bowls, pizza and Asian and European menus line the road to Cloud 9, alongside Filipino canteens serving adobo, sinigang and silog breakfasts of garlic rice, egg and cured meat. The markets in Dapa and General Luna are where prices stay local, selling the morning catch, fruit, and the sticky rice and banana-leaf snacks eaten between meals.